Life, 1923-04-19 · page 5 of 36
Life — April 19, 1923 — page 5: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page features a poem by Katharine Parker Thorc about an Egyptian princess, accompanied by a satirical illustration of a museum scene. The cartoon depicts visitors viewing a mummy at what appears to be a luxury museum or exhibition space, likely referencing Luxor in Egypt. The satire hinges on the dialogue at bottom: a man observes it's a princess from 3,000 years ago, while a woman responds nostalgically that "women were more homely in those days"—a dig at modern women's vanity and beauty standards. The poem itself romanticizes the dead princess's life and spiritual journey. The piece combines fin-de-siècle fascination with Egyptology and mummy exhibitions (popular tourist attractions) with commentary on gender, mortality, and changing social values.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
aL rE The Princess at Luxor TH brought you up to the glaring sun, Who had three thousand years of dusk— A slender brown Princess in crumbling robes, Like a sandalwood image with spice and musk. Did the strange gods keep their faith with you, Osiris and. Hathor and Pasht and the rest, With their symbols gay on your painted case And the scarab laid in your tender breast? You were so young And the centuries passed, And the gray sand swirled above your tomb. Was the “ka” of you born on the earth again That its broken blossom might reach full bioom? Perhaps you were loved as a beggar maid, Being tired of kings and of royal sway. Are you searching still for your happiness— Did I pass your soul on the street to-day? Katharine Parker Thore. : This is the mummy of a princess who lived three thousand years ago. She: Gracious, how homely the women were in those days! comicbooks.com